Amendments to British Columbia’s Adult Guardianship Act
A Vancouver realtor, Wilbur Roshinsky, was recently suspended by the Real Estate Council of B.C. for taking advantage of a 90 year old spinster suffering from dementia. The realtor arranged to sell...
View ArticleProposed Amendments to B.C.’s Civil Forfeiture Act
In April 2006, B.C.’s Civil Forfeiture Act (“CFA”) came into force. Seven Canadian provinces now have similar legislation. The CFA provides a mechanism for the government, through the Director of the...
View ArticleBut I spent the money already!
There is a card in Monopoly that reads “Bank error in your favour” and which entitles you to keep the $200 wrongly credited to your account. Banks can make errors. Banks are also frequently the...
View ArticleThe Red Carding of Mohammed Bin Hammam
On July 23rd, ex-Fifa presidential candidate, Mohammad Bin Hammam (“MBH”) was banned from football related activity for life. He is the most senior official to be banned by Fifa in its 107 year...
View ArticleA Cautionary Tale for Front Line Bank Employees?
A common fraud perpetrated on financial institutions is the deposit of counterfeit cheques. The account holder distances themselves from the fraud by portraying the payment as one they thought was...
View ArticleB.C. Supreme Court Exempts Lawyers from Federal Anti-Money Laundering Laws
The federal government and the legal profession have been at odds for a number of years over the extent to which lawyers can and should be regulated under the federal Proceeds of Crime (Money...
View ArticleFederal Government Proposes Amendments to Anti-Money Laundering Legislation
On November 7, 2011, the federal Government issued a consultation paper on proposed amendments to the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) and Terrorist Financing (“PCMLTF”) Act and Regulations which,...
View ArticleMaterially Altered Cheques: Who Bears the Loss?
You just met a nice foreign gentleman. He asks you to assist him in facilitating a transfer of funds overseas. You agree because he offers a 5% commission. He produces a cheque payable to you, for a...
View ArticleIllegal Contracts and Unjust Enrichment: Who Wins Out?
What is an illegal contract and is it enforceable? If an illegal contract is unenforceable, does the party who received its benefit get to keep that windfall? The short answer to the first question...
View ArticleBC Court of Appeal Acknowledges Independence of the Bar as a Principle of...
In October 2011 I wrote about the BC Supreme Court decision in Federation of Law Societies of Canada v. Canada (Attorney General), 2011 BCSC 1270 in which the Court held that provisions of the federal...
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